RiverstoneArtsPress announces the release
by Priya Huffman
paperback-perfectbound-87 pages
cover price: $18.00 USD
Each book includes a bookmark
with a download code to a
Soundcloud audio recording of 11
poems, read by the author.
of Bone and Breath is a riveting commentary on human paradox. In this courageous contemplation, the awareness of death – our own, and all that is beloved to us – come into intimate conversation with the glories and fragilities of life. Each of the 51 poems (and prose) in this collection reflect facets of what it is to live an ephemeral existence, in a living memorial to all that changes, dies and renews.
Available on Amazon.com
http://www.amazon.com/Bone-Breath-Priya-Huffman/dp/0692520201
Boulder Book Store
Tattered Cover Denver
Banyen Books in Vancouver
Advance Reviews
Of Bone and Breath is a brave book. Priya Huffman holds up the mirror of ‘connectivity’ for us to see in stellar poetry and riveting prose, that awareness of death is what allows entrance into an immediate experience of life. Every poem is a different and stunning facet of remembrance.
– Ginny Jordan, Author of Clear Cut. Boulder, Co
There is a Jewish tradition that suggests parents teach children to love the Talmud not by reading it to them, but by having them lick honey from its pages. There is honey on these pages. And it teaches us to love life in all its aspects. Such a fearless love is one of the most precious human creations in the world. Of Bone and Breath has its source in just such a fearless love.
– Anne Geraghty. Author of Death, The Last God: A Modern Book of the Dead and In the Dark and Still Moving.
of BONE AND BREATH is a relentless commentary on mortality; even so, Priya Huffman’s new collection of poetry cracks open a space reserved for immortality. At least once in each poem, an image is presented like never before. In VERTIGO, a woman finds the still point among the fervent dervish strokes of a brush gone wild, in KISS, a daughter feels the halting pass of a parchment mouth across her moist cheek, and in THE LAST LOVEMAKING, passions wane and transform into something else, that tendril of light after the firefly has flown. A haunting sorrow as well as a tireless wisdom informs and illuminates Priya Huffman’s work. This is a book to carry with you on the journey through life.
– Norm Gibbons, Author of ‘The Voyage of the Arrogant.’ B.C. Canada.
The Territory of Home is a debut collection of 40 poems, a song to place: both within, between, as well as in the natural and man-made world. Priya Huffman juxtaposes life’s inevitable losses, both personal and environmental, with the exquisite luxury and beauty of ordinary life. In language lyrical yet precise, she invites the reader into our all too human dilemma of yearning for belonging, even amidst the ever-present truth of impermanence. The Territory of Home is both a exultation of what truly endures as well as a ballad to that which dies.
Reviews
Absolutely Captivating! I couldn’t put it down!
By Ted B-P on May 18, 2014
If you want to be taken on an incredibly tender and intimate journey of discovery and beauty, then this is a book for you. Ms. Huffman’s wonderful ability to describe her own journey in images that resonate with the reader for days afterwards is enthralling. Her courageous honesty in taking us through the difficult passages of life is perfectly balanced with her ability to describe life’s absolute beauty as well. I couldn’t put it down. I just bought 10 copies of the book to give to my friends.
Sublime Songs for the Heart
By Anthony O’Brien “Anto” (Ireland) on May 19, 2014
Priya has a rare gift, the ability to write poetry that is immediate, alive, accessible, familiar but always surprising. Her language is direct and clear, but her imagery is spell-binding, illuminating, captivating. Sometimes I wept, and often laughed. This short book is pure magic.
If you read no other book of poetry ever, read this one. And if you read only one poem from territory of Home, read “Necklace.” With Priya’s poems you may think, “Ah, I know where she’s going with this!” But you don’t, and she leads you to another new and amazing insight. With Necklace, the expression of children’s art from Theresienstat extermination camp becomes a string of beads, monuments to cruelty at first, but then transformed into a necklace of human beauty, embracing the world. Fabulous.
The little book that lives by my bed
By gormenghast on May 16, 2014
Priya Huffman is a master wordsmith … she delves deep, very deep .. she speaks of subjects that matter to us all. She brings us into her intimate world … and ultimately into her experience of nature … These poems are poignant, simple and complex, humorous, sad , honest, light, each one exquisite …
“…….summer’s magic yet again
pulls a rabbit out of a hat
in spite of rising oceans
raging storms and boiling deserts
even through we do not know
what will become of us all
on this day from this tree
the sun shines upon a prefect
peach that has made itself …”
If i had to let go of most of my possessions this little book would be one i would keep to take to my next bedside …
the poems breathe quietude .. evoke imagination … perhaps influence a dream.
An Uncommonly Beautiful Book
By Dhyan Atkinson on May 15, 2014
Priya Huffman has the eye and heart of a mystic. In addition, she has the rare gift of being able to put the things she sees, experiences and feels into beautiful poetry. I was stunned by her poems when I read them the first time; some moved me to tears. If you are looking for a book that glides along the depths of life, read this one.
For more reviews visit Amazon.com The Territory of Home and consider writing your own review.
